Huffington Post: U.S. Companies' Labor Standards Are So Weak They Could Lose Military Contracts

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/03/bangladesh-safety-accord_n_4378927.html?1386099994

Posted: 12/03/2013 2:46 pm EST | Updated: 12/03/2013 3:15 pm EST

Dave Jamieson

WASHINGTON -- As Congress tries to hash out a military spending bill for next year, lawmakers are considering a provision that would give preferential treatment to clothing suppliers that have signed onto a historic worker safety agreement hatched in Bangladesh earlier this year.

That's where things get awkward. If the provision holds up, many U.S. companies -- including retail giants like Gap and Walmart -- in theory won't have met a labor standard deeming their labels worthy of being sold on U.S. military bases.

Right now, most U.S. clothing vendors are conspicuously absent from the international pact, known as the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, which was established in the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster in April that claimed 1,129 lives. While European brands rushed to sign on, many of their American counterparts instead opted to create their own program, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which labor watchdogs have denounced as toothless and non-binding.

The GOP-controlled House of Representatives passed a spending bill earlier this year that includes an amendment on labor standards pertaining to military-branded clothing sold in base retail stores. The Senate is now considering including similar language in its bill.

FULL story at link.

[unhappycamper]

1. The TPP will take care of this...... n/t